MXPA01007260A

MXPA01007260A - Heat exchange module, more particularly for automotive vehicle, and process for manufacturing same.

Info

Publication number: MXPA01007260A
Application number: MXPA01007260A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Martins Carlos
Original assignee: Valeo Thermique Moteur Sa
Priority date: 2000-07-18
Filing date: 2001-07-17
Publication date: 2003-05-19
Also published as: EP1174673A3; FR2812081B1; ATE353133T1; EP1174673A2; BR0102939A; EP1174673B1; DE60126381T2; DE60126381D1; FR2812081A1

Abstract

The module comprises at least two exchangers (1,2) composed of a tube network (5,10) interposed between two manifolds (6,12). The fluid circulation tubes pass through cooling fins (14) which are common to at least two exchangers. The tubes and fins are brazed together. The fins have cut-outs into which the exchanger tubes are introduced.

Description

MODULE EXCHANGED! * OF HEAT. FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING OF SUCH MODULE DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY The invention relates to a heat exchanger module, specifically for a motor vehicle, which consists of several exchangers that have common fins. It relates in particular to a heat exchanger module comprising at least two heat exchangers, each constituting an assembly interposed between two collector boxes, the assembly is formed of fluid circulation tubes connected to the collector boxes and passing through the fins of common cooling in at least two module exchangers. The heat exchangers for motor vehicles are generally presented in the form of a set of fluid circulation tubes and fins for exchanging heat with the external medium. The assembly is interposed between two collector boxes that distribute the fluid in the circulation tubes. Or, the exchanger comprises a single collector box divided into an inlet section and an outlet section. It is already known how to assemble a main exchanger, such as a cooling radiator of an engine of a motor vehicle, one of several secondary exchangers in order to constitute a unit, then called module, ready for installation in a vehicle, the fins of the module being common for the different exchangers. The secondary exchanger is most often composed of a motor charge air cooler, an air conditioning condenser or an oil cooler. There are two main technologies for the realization of heat exchangers for motor vehicles. In accordance with a first technology, the exchangers are assembled in a single operation by welding. For this type of exchangers, the fins are constituted by corrugated interleavers arranged between the tubes and in parallel to the latter. In accordance with another technology, the pieces constituting the exchanger are assembled exclusively by mechanical means, such as crimping. This type of exchanger comprises fine and flat fins, arranged perpendicular to the tubes and traversed by the latter. Mechanically assembled exchangers have several advantages. They are compact, offer ease of assembly of the collectors, the distances between the axes of the ends of the tubes are precise. Its fins, being finer than those of the welded exchangers, are more numerous and allow a better exchange of heat. However, they have the drawback that they need costly assembly operations in terms of time and tools. In particular, the assembly of the secondary exchanger (s) on the main exchanger must be obtained by particular mechanical means that affect the compact quality of the module. The object of the present invention is a heat exchanger module which, while retaining the advantages of mechanically assembled exchangers, offers the ease of assembly of the exchangers between them and makes it possible to produce a compact heat exchanger module. This result is obtained in accordance with the invention, by the fact that the tubes and fins are welded by welding and that the fins have the shape of a long rectangle having two long sides and two short sides, the fins comprise, on at least one of the long sides, receiving cuts of the tubes in which the circulation pipes of at least one of the exchangers is introduced. In this way, the assembly of the module is simplified particularly in that the tubes can slide laterally in the receiving sections of the fin tubes, before being joined to said fins by welding. Preferably, the invention is applied to heat exchange modules comprising metal collector boxes, particularly aluminum. In this case, the plate of the tubes and the cover are metallic, the cover, the plate of the tubes and the assembly are assembled by welding in a single operation. This mode requires a minimum of assembly operations. However, the invention applies equally in the case where the assembly is only welded. In such a case, the plates of the tubes are fixed in a conventional manner on the tubes by widening the extremities of the latter. Finally, in accordance with an intermediate mode, it is possible to weld a plate of the metal tubes on the assembly in a single welding operation. In said variant, the lid of the collecting box made, for example, of plastic material will be assembled mechanically, for example, by means of the crimping of the legs of the collecting box. This variant has the advantage of suppressing a certain number of mechanical assembly operations of the plate of the tubes on the ends of the tubes of the assembly. In one embodiment, the reception cuts of the tubes do not exist except on one of the two long sides of the fins. In this case, since the heat exchange module comprises at least two exchangers, two or more of the two tubes are successively introduced into each of the reception cuts made in the fin. The cut in this way can contain two, three, and even more tubes. In another embodiment, the fin comprises cuts for receiving the tubes on each of the two long sides. In this case, the tubes of the exchangers are distributed on the two long sides of the fins.

For example, if the heat exchanger module includes two exchangers, the tubes of an exchanger are introduced into the reception cuts of the tubes of one of the long sides, while the tubes of fluid circulation are introduced into the receiving cuts. of the tubes on the other long side. If the heat exchange module includes more than two exchangers, for example three, the tubes of two heat exchangers will be introduced in the receiving sections of the pipes of one of the long sides, and the tubes of the third heat exchanger in the receiving sections. of the tubes on the other long side. The reception cuts of the tubes can have a constant length over their entire length. In any case, in a preferred embodiment, the receiving cuts of the tubes have a stepped profile that extends from the bottom of the cut towards the entrance of the cut. This embodiment is particularly suited to the case where the exchangers have fluid circulation tubes with different thicknesses. The stepped profile of the tube receiving cut allows the adaptation of the length of the cut to the thickness of the tubes of each exchanger. Preferably, each receiving cut of a tube includes a thermal insulation recess located between the tubes of the exchangers. Said notch was created in order to avoid as far as possible the establishment of a thermal point between the part of the fins corresponding to an exchanger and the part of the fins corresponding to the adjacent exchanger.

Preferably, the fins and / or the tubes are coated with a solder alloy. Preferably, the short sides of the fins are folded and welded to the assembly by welding. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of manufacturing a heat exchanger module that includes at least two heat exchangers, each exchanger being constituted by an assembly interposed between two collector boxes, the assembly being formed of fluid circulation tubes. connected to the collector boxes, and passing through the cooling fins common to the exchangers of the module, the fins have the shape of an elongated rectangle having two long sides and two short sides. According to the invention, the method includes the steps consisting of: - making cuts of reception of the tubes on at least one of the long sides of the fins, - inserting the tubes of at least one heat exchanger in the cuts made on at least one of the long sides of the fins, - weld the tubes and fins. In the case in which at least one of the exchangers is constituted by a plate in the tubes and a cover, both metallic, the cover, the plate of the tubes and the assembly are assembled by welding in a single operation. If all the plates of the tubes and all the covers are metallic, for example aluminum, the module is assembled in a single operation by welding and all the mechanical assembly operations are suppressed. When at least one of the exchangers is constituted by a plate of metal tubes, the lid of the collection box is not made of metal, for example of plastic material, the plate of the tubes and the assembly can be assembled by welding in a single operation. The collecting box is then assembled mechanically in a subsequent operation. According to one embodiment, the method of the invention includes the steps consisting of: - welding, in a single operation, the collector boxes and the fluid circulation tubes of at least two heat exchangers; receiving the tubes on at least one of the long sides of the fins, - inserting the tubes of two heat exchangers assembled by welding in the cuts made on one of the long sides of the fins. In this modality, the tubes are inserted under pressure in the receiving cuts of the tubes of a block of fins, and the junction between the fluid circulation tubes and the fins is of mechanical type. Other features and utilities of the present invention will be apparent from the reading of the following description of the examples of the embodiments made by way of illustration with reference to the appended figures. In said figures: Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a heat exchanger module including a cooling radiator of a motor vehicle engine and an air conditioning condenser; - figure 2 represents detail II of figure 1, enlarged; Figure 3 is a plan view of a fin of the heat exchanger module that is shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a heat exchanger module according to the invention including a plate of welded tubes; Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of a coating of a fin to a heat exchanger module in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. Figures 6 and 7 are partial perspective views illustrating a method of manufacturing the second embodiment of the heat exchanger module according to the invention; and Figure 8 is a partial perspective view of a fin coating intended for a variant of the second embodiment of the exchanger module of the invention. The heat exchanger module shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a cooling radiator 1 of an engine of a motor vehicle and an air conditioning condenser 2, these two exchangers being generally flat. The radiator 1 is formed continuously with a set of vertical fluid circulation tubes 5 placed between two collection boxes 6 (only one box is represented), the collection boxes 6 being arranged in the length of the two parallel sides of the assembly of the tubes and provided with cooling fluid inlet and outlet ducts 8. The condenser 2 is constituted in the same way of a set of vertical tubes of fluid circulation 10 mounted between two collector boxes 12 (only one is represented), the collector boxes are arranged in the length of the two parallel sides of the assembly and provided with cooling fluid inlet and outlet ducts (not shown). The common fins 14 of the exchangers 1 and 2 are mounted in a conventional manner on the tubes 5 of the exchanger 1 and the tubes 10 of the exchanger 2. One of said fins is shown in figure 3. In figure 3 it is presented, seen in FIG. plant, the shape of an elongated rectangle (see Figure 3) including first and second long sides, 16, 18, and 2 short sides 20. On the long side 16, there are the cutouts 22 for receiving the tubes 5. of the exchanger 1 and on the long side 18 the receiving cuts 24 of the tubes 10 of the exchanger 2. As can be seen in figure 3, the cuts 22 and 24 have a shape corresponding to that of the tubes. Its length is designed in such a way that the tubes can be introduced by sliding them. The passage of the cuts 22 and 24 is equal to that of the tubes 5 and 10. Furthermore, it is noted that the fin 14 is separated into two zones of the heat exchanger by two series of elongated holes 26 created to avoid as far as possible the establishment a thermal point between the part of the fins 14 corresponding to the exchanger 1 and the part of the fins 14 corresponds to the exchanger 2. The collection box 6 of the exchanger 1 (figure 1) consists of a first part 28 and a second part 30, each formed from a metal sheet, usefully made of aluminum, which is formed by the classic cutting and welding operations. The first part 28 consists of a bottom 32 which is generally flat and elongated rectangular in shape. Said bottom 32 was created to constitute the collector plate, called "orifice plate", of the collecting box 6. Said bottom includes, in this case, a plurality of separate holes 34 of elongated shape for receiving the tubes 5 of the exchanger 1 ( figure 2). The part 30 comprises in the other two laterals 36 face-to-face folds which are generally planes parallel to each other. Said sides 36 are connected practically perpendicular to the bottom 32 by two lines of bends that are parallel to each other. The duct 8 is arranged on one of the sides 36.

The second part 30 is obtained from a metal sheet of a length that has the parallel generators. Said blade can be fitted between the lateral flanks 36 of the first part 28 to form an assembly arranged to be welded at the same time as the conduits 8. The collector box 12 of the exchanger 2 has a general shape of a long cylinder provided with perforations (which they are not seen in Figure 1) created to receive the tubes 10 of the exchanger. The exchanger is assembled as follows. The collector boxes of each of the exchangers and the respective tubes of each of said exchangers are assembled separately. On the other hand, the fins are superimposed on each other in such a way that the cuts 22 and 24 of reception of the tubes 5 and 10 are in prolongation between them. The tubes 5 of the exchanger 1 of the long side 16 of the fins 14 and the tubes 10 of the exchanger 2 of the long side 18 of the fins 14 are slid. As all the exchanger parts are assembled, the heat exchange module can be welded in a single operation inside a welding furnace, in a conventional manner. For this purpose, the tubes and / or fins advantageously comprise a solder alloy. As can be seen in Figure 2, the short sides 20 of the fins 14 are folded and joined by the weld. In figure 4 a cross-sectional view of a variant of the mode of the exchanger 1 integrated in a heat exchange module identical to that described with reference to figures 1 to 3 is shown.

Within this variant, the exchanger comprises a collecting box 40 which is not metallic. Therefore, it can not be assembled by welding with a single operation such as the heat exchange module. However, the collecting plate 42 which is metallic can be assembled by welding in the tubes 5 of the exchanger 1. As can be seen in Figure 4, the plate of the tubes 42 comprises a slot 44 into which a gasket is inserted. 46. A seal is conventionally modalized by applying the holder 48 of the lid 40 on the seal 46 and by crimping the lid 40 on the plate of the tubes 42 by means of folded legs 50 included in the plate of the tubes . On the other hand, it is not necessary to provide a seal between the plate of the tubes 42 and the tubes 5, since this sealing is obtained directly by welding the plate of the tubes 42 at the same time as the rest of the exchanger. This embodiment then represents a simplification to produce a completely mechanical assembly in the plate of the tubes that needs, in addition to the presence of a seal between the plate and each of the tubes, to enlarge the end of the tubes 5 of the exchanger to retaining the plate of the tubes 42. In figure 5, a partial perspective view of a fin coating for a heat exchange module according to a second embodiment of the invention is shown. In the same manner as the fins in the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4, each fin 14 comprises two long sides 16, 18 and two short sides 20. In Fig. 5, the long sides 16 and 18 no longer look like long than the short sides 20 because the representation of the fin is partial for simplification purposes. In fact, the fin has the shape of a very long rectangle. The fins 14 comprise on one of the long sides, the side 16 in the example, the cuts 22 intended for the reception of the fluid circulation tubes of two exchangers included in a heat exchange module. Within this mode, the cuts 22 are sufficiently long to receive simultaneously the tubes of the two exchangers. The length of the cut 22 can be constant. However, in the example shown, the cut 22 is formed by a section 52 of greater length and a section 54 of smaller length. The section 54 is located next to the bottom 60 of the cut 22, while section 52 is located on the side of entry 62 of the latter. In this way, the cut presents a stepped profile extending from the bottom 60 towards the entrance 62 of the cut. The sections 52 and 54 are separated from each other by a thermal insulation notch 56 intended to limit heat transmission between the section 52 and the section 54. It will also be appreciated that contrary to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, the fins shown in figure 5 they only include the cut of reception of the tubes on one of the long sides, and not on both. Finally, the presence of perforations 58 comprising the folded legs that allow maintaining a constant space between all the fins 14 of the exchange assembly of the heat exchange module will be noted. In figure 6 a partial perspective view of a heat exchange module according to the second embodiment of the invention is shown before its assembly and, figure 7, the same heat exchange module in assembled position. In Figure 6, the heat exchange module is comprised of two sub-assemblies. The first sub-assembly is made up of two exchangers, that is to say, a cooling radiator 1 of an automotive vehicle engine and an air conditioning condenser 2, these two exchangers being generally flat. The radiator 1 is formed in a known manner in a set of vertical fluid circulation tubes 5 mounted between two collection boxes 6 (represented by a single box), the collection boxes 6 being arranged along two parallel sides of the set of tubes and provided with cooling fluid inlet and outlet ducts 8. The collecting box 6 of the exchanger 1 comprises a first part 28 and a second part 30, each formed from a metal sheet, preferably aluminum. The first part 28 comprises a background 32 which is generally flat and of prolonged rectangular shape, intended to constitute the collector plate that receives the tubes 5. The condenser 2 is also formed by a set of vertical fluid circulation tubes 10 mounted between two collector boxes 12 (represented as a single one). box), the collector boxes being arranged along two parallel sides of the assembly and provided with inlet and outlet conduits 9 of the refrigerant fluid. The second sub-assembly constituting the heat exchange module is formed by a stack of fins 14, all identical to each other. These fins have been described with reference to Figure 5. In Figure 7, the two sub-assemblies are shown attached to form the heat exchange module. In figure 6, it is observed that the tubes 10 of the condenser assembly are less thick and less long than the tubes 5 of the heat exchange assembly of the radiator 1. This is the reason why the section 54 of the receiving area of tubes 22, located beside the bottom 60 of this cut, is narrower and less long than the section 52 located next to the inlet 62 of this cut. In this way, the cut 22 has a stepped profile extending from the bottom 60 of the cut towards its inlet 62. This stepped profile makes it possible to adapt exactly the shape of the cut to the geometry of the tubes 5 and 10 of the two module exchangers. heat exchange. There are two variants of the manufacturing process of the heat exchange module shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Within a first variant, the first sub-assembly, that is to say, the exchangers 1 and 2 constituted by their collecting box and the set of tubes of each of them, are assembled separately by welding, without the fins 14. Then, the tubes 10 and 5 are introduced into the cuts 22 of the fin block 14. The length of the sections 52 and 54 is conceived in such a way that the tubes are inserted under pressure into the cuts 22. The relationship between the tubes 5 and 10 of the heat exchange module and the fins 14 is therefore mechanical. It should be understood that this modality is susceptible to various variants. For example, it is possible to solder only the plate of the tubes 32 in the tubes of the assembly and mechanically assemble the collection box 6. Within a second embodiment of the procedure, both Heat exchangers 1 and 2 are assembled with the fin block 14 and the assembly is welded in a single operation inside an oven. In this embodiment, the thermal relationship between the tubes 5 and 10 of the exchangers and the fins 14 is solder. The main advantage of a mechanical type relationship is the fact that it allows the use of folded tubes in channels. In fact, for reasons of mechanical stability, the use of flat tubes without channels is prohibited within this type of modality. The leakage control in the exchangers can also be carried out before assembly on the fins 14. The waste fluxes required for the welding will also be limited to the pipes and the collector boxes. Likewise, it is easier to suppress the thermal bridge between the two exchangers, since the critical part lies between the two kinds of tubes and that, due to the free space between these two kinds of tubes inside the cut 22 for receiving the tubes, there is no conductive matter between the two exchangers, except for the exchange surface constituted by the blinds 57.

On the other hand, the use of flat fins such as the fins 14 allows the removal of faces of the exchanger that are necessary in an exchanger comprising undulated interleaves. In FIG. 8, a mode variant of the fins 14 is shown. Within this embodiment, the fins 14 comprise a tube receiving cut 22 on the long side 16 and a tube receiving cut 24 on the long side 18. The cuts 22 are similar to those described in figures 5 to 7. In other words, their length is provided in such a way that they are capable of receiving the tubes of the two exchangers, for example a cooling radiator and an air conditioning condenser. The cuts have a stepped profile that extends from the bottom 60 towards the entrance 62 of the cuts. Sections 52 and 54, adapted for receiving the tubes of each of the two exchangers, are separated by a thermal insulation recess 56. The tube receiving cut 24 provided by the long cuts 18 of the fins 14 is similar to the cut 24 shown in figures 1 to 4. In other words, it is intended to receive the tubes of a single heat exchanger. In this way, in summary, the fins 14 shown in FIG. 8 make it possible to receive the tubes of three exchangers. Thus, the heat exchange module can be formed by three exchangers. Other modal variants are possible. The tube receiving cuts can be provided to receive more than two tubes, for example three or more. It can be considered, on each of the sides 16 and 18, cuts 22 and 24 that allow each to receive more tubes, for example two or more. For example, a heat exchange module could comprise four exchangers, the tubes of these two exchangers being introduced into the cuts 22, while the tubes of the two other exchangers are introduced into the cuts 24. It should be understood that the invention does not it is limited to the modalities described above as examples and is extended to other variants.

Claims

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A heat exchange module, comprising at least two heat exchangers (1, 2), each one constitutes a set interposed between two collector boxes (6, 12), the assembly is formed of fluid circulation tubes (5, 12). , 10) connected to the collector boxes (6, 12) and extending through the common cooling fins for at least two exchangers (1, 2) of the module, characterized in that the tubes (5, 10) and the fins (14) are soldered by welding and in that the fins (14) of these exchangers have the shape of a long rectangle having two long sides (16, 18) and two short sides (20), the fins comprise, on at least one of the long sides, receiving cuts of the tubes (22, 24) into which the tubes (5, 10) of fluid circulation of at least one of the exchangers are introduced.

2. The heat exchange module according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the exchangers is constituted by a tube plate (32) and a metal lid (30), characterized in that the lid (30) ), the tube plate (32), the tubes (5, 10) and the fins (14) are assembled by welding in a single operation.

3. The module according to claim 1, in which at least one of the exchangers is constituted by a metal plate of tubes, characterized in that the tube plate (42), the tubes (5) and the fins (14). ) are assembled by welding in a single operation.

4. The module according to one of claims 1 to 3, further characterized in that it comprises cut-outs of tubes (22, 24) on each of the long sides (16, 18) and in that the tubes of at least one exchanger are introduced in the reception cut-outs (22, 24) of each of the long sides (16, 18).

5. The module according to one of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the receiving cuts of the tubes (22, 24) have a stepped profile extending from the bottom (60) of the cut (22, 24) to the entrance (62) of the cut.

6. The module according to one of claims 1 to 5, further characterized in that each cut (22, 24) for receiving a tube comprises a thermal insulation recess (56) located between the tubes (5, 10) of the exchangers (1, 2).

7. The module according to one of claims 1 to 6, further characterized in that the fins (14) and / or the tubes (5, 10) are covered by a solder alloy.

8. The module according to one of claims 1 to 7, further characterized in that the short sides (20) of the fins (14) are folded and joined together by welding.

9. A method of manufacturing a heat exchanger module comprising at least two heat exchangers (1, 2), each one constitutes a set interposed between two collector boxes (6, 12), the assembly is formed of tubes of fluid circulation (5, 10) connected to the collector boxes (6, 12) and extending through the cooling fins (14) common to at least two exchangers (1, 2), the fins have the shape of an elongated rectangle having two long sides (16, 18) and two short sides (20), characterized in that it comprises the steps consisting of: performing reception cuts (22, 24) of the tubes on at least one of the long sides (16, 18) of the fins (14); inserting the tubes (5, 10) of at least one heat exchanger in the cuts (22, 24) made on at least one of the long sides (16, 18) of the fins (14); weld the tubes (5, 10) and the fins (14) in a single operation.

10. The manufacturing process according to claim 9, further characterized in that at least one of the exchangers is formed by a plate of tubes and a metal cap, and because the cap, the plate of tubes (32), the tubes (5, 10) and the fins (14) are assembled by welding in a single operation.

11. The manufacturing process according to claim 9, further characterized in that at least one of the exchangers (1, 2) is formed by a metal plate of tubes (42) and because the tube cap (42), tubes (5, 10) and fins (14) are assembled by welding in a single operation.

12. A method of manufacturing a heat exchanger module comprising at least two heat exchangers (1, 2), each exchanger being formed by an assembly interposed between two collector boxes (6, 12), the assembly is formed of fluid circulation tubes (5, 10) connected to the collector boxes (6, 12) and extending through the cooling fins (14) common for the exchangers (1, 2), the fins have the shape of an elongated rectangle having two long sides (16, 18) and two short sides (20), characterized in that it comprises the steps consisting of: welding, in a single operation, the collector boxes (6, 12) and the circulation tubes of fluid (5, 10) from at least two exchangers (1, 2); performing receiving cuts (22, 24) of the tubes on at least one of the long sides (16, 18) of the fins (14); inserting the tubes (5, 10) of the two heat exchangers assembled by welding into the cuts (22) made on one of the long sides (16, 18) of the fins (14).